PAK v WI, 1st T20I Review: Imad Wasim blows away West Indies

Pakistan, powered by Imad Wasim decimating bowling performance, crushed West Indies by a comfortable 9 wicket margin in the opening game of the three-match T20i series at the Dubai Sports Stadium, Dubai.

Batting first, West Indies could manage only 115 runs in the first innings after surviving the embarrassment of getting bowled out for their lowest T20I total ever.

Chasing 116 runs to win, Pakistan, after initial hiccups, cruised past the target quite easily riding on the Babar Azam’s attacking half century.

The first half of the game was total chaos for the Windies. They looked like complete rookies against the Pakistan bowling led by left-arm spinner Imad Wasim. The left arm spinner looked ‘bad from the bone’ today and ran through the Windies batting order single-handedly claiming 5/14 – the best bowling figures by a Pakistani spinner.

Imad’s stellar bowling crippled West Indies badly and left them reeling at 48/8 at one stage before Jerome Taylor and Dwayne Bravo rescued their team with a match-defining stand taking their team total to a functional position.

It looked all but over for West Indies at the start after Imad Wasim snapped three wickets of their top order wicket in his first two overs. Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher and Marlon Samuels had to leave the crease in no time. Opener Lewis was the first to depart after losing his wicket off the third ball in the first over. An over later two more quick wickets fell in the form of Marlon Samuels and Ander Fletcher.

Also read – Pakistan v West Indies, 1st T20I: 5 Talking Points

No chance for resurrection was offered to the batting side as their struggle against left arm spin continued after Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Johnson Charles in the very next over. Debutant Nicholas Pooran also could not emulate his CPL performances and became Hasan Ali’s first victim. West Indies at this stage were reduced to five down for just 22 runs.  This was the first time the calypso Kings had lost five wickets before the end of the powerplay.

The batting side further sunk into trouble as they lost three more wickets in a jiffy with Imad adding two out of them to his tally ending with outstanding figures of 5/14.

But, Pakistan soon lost the grip. Bravo (55) and tail-ender Jerome Taylor (21) combined brilliantly and put up 66 runs for the ninth wicket to rescue West Indies from the state of misery.

Pakistan, in response, faced few troubles at the start. The early departure of Sharjeel khan and the pressure added by the spinning duo of Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine added quite a lot of pressure on the Pakistan.

But, things went smoothly for Pakistan thereafter as Khalid Latif (34 from 32 balls) and Babar Azam (55 from 37 balls) then combined together and helped their team cruise past the target without any worry.

A lot of credit must go to Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Khan who made all the right decision today. His decision to start with Imad Wasim – the most improving all-rounder in the team at present – was the golden decision. Utilisation of the fast bowlers was also another impressive feature of his captaincy today. he would now hope for a similar performance from his boys in the upcoming games as well.

Brief Scores

West Indies: 115 all out in 19.5 overs (Dwayne Bravo 55; Imad Wasim 5/14)

Pakistan: 116/1 in  14.2 overs (Babar Azam 55; Samuel badree 1/27)

Man of the Match: Imad Wasim